Epsom launches £6 million bid to revive the Derby festival
Epsom’s Derby rescue plan pairs a £2 million Classic, free under-18s and a new Hill zone with a target crowd surge after attendance sank to 22,312.
The Derby has drifted from the middle of British sport, and Epsom is now trying to drag it back. With this year’s Betfred Derby drawing 22,312, about 4,000 fewer than the year before, the Jockey Club has unveiled a £6 million bid to revive the festival’s pull, betting that bigger prizes, a friendlier fan offer and a better atmosphere can restore the race’s relevance.
At the centre of the plan is money. Next year’s Derby will be worth £2 million, up £500,000, while the Coronation Cup will return to Derby day and rise to £1 million from £450,000. Free entry for under-18s, free parking, temporary stands and a new Hill area called DerbyFest are all part of the push to change the way Epsom feels on the day, not just the way it looks on paper.
Jim Allen, the track’s general manager, said the goal was to “make ourselves more appealing” after a review that took in racegoers, annual members, the local community, stakeholders across the sport, Betfred and other partners. He said Epsom is also looking at pricing, enclosure offerings and wider customer experience as it tries to create a more premium atmosphere for a festival that still carries the weight of the sport’s biggest traditions.
That sense of urgency is easy to understand. The Derby, first run in 1780, remains the most prestigious of Britain’s five Classics and the race that has inspired hundreds of Derbys around the world, including the Kentucky Derby. Yet crowd figures have been in long decline, falling from 53,177 in 2001 to 38,044 in 2019, before the 2020 renewal behind closed doors marked the darkest point of all.
This year’s Derby-day card, with two Group 3 races and five handicaps alongside the Classic, also drew criticism. Allen said the new package is meant to improve both the on-track and off-track offer, while also bringing back the scale that once made Epsom feel like a national occasion.
George Baker welcomed the changes and said, “There was certainly a feeling amongst the racing community in Epsom that something pretty dramatic had to happen.” Allen hopes the first signs of recovery will show next Derby Day on June 5, when a crowd of 40,000 would be a meaningful step, before the longer-term target of 100,000 for the festival by 2030.
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